LONDON: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is \u201claser-focused\u201d on securing peace in Ukraine after US President Donald Trump suspended military aid to Kyiv, Britain\u2019s deputy prime minister said Tuesday.
\nAngela Rayner said the pause was \u201ca matter for\u201d the United States and it had not changed Starmer\u2019s approach toward trying to find a suitable ceasefire to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s laser focused on getting peace. He won\u2019t be derailed by announcements,\u201d Rayner told BBC Radio after being asked for her reaction to Trump\u2019s announcement.
\nShe added that the British Labour government was \u201cfocused on support for Ukraine\u201d and \u201cbringing the US around the table alongside our European partners and Ukraine.\u201d
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve put our money where our mouth is and stepped up our support for Ukraine through air defense, through military capabilities, and through the military aid we give year upon year,\u201d Rayner said.
\nStarmer is seeking to tread a fine line between backing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and keeping Trump onside as Europe seeks security guarantees in the event of an end to the war.
\n\u201cHe won\u2019t be bounced by particular announcements overnight,\u201d Rayner told ITV television.
\n\u201cHe will continue to work with our strong allies to get the peace for Ukraine and for Europe,\u201d she added, describing the UK as an \u201chonest broker.\u201d
\nThe UK\u2019s main opposition leader, Kemi Badenoch, said Britain and Europe must \u201crearm faster\u201d following Trump\u2019s announcement.
\n\u201cThe news overnight that America is halting military aid to Ukraine is profoundly worrying,\u201d she wrote on X.
\n\u201cIt is clear that Britain and Europe must rearm much faster if we want to provide Ukraine with more than just warm words of support.
\n\u201cWe must work to keep America in, and Russia out.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is \u201claser-focused\u201d on securing peace in Ukraine after US President Donald Trump suspended military aid to Kyiv, Britain\u2019s deputy prime minister said Tuesday. Angela Rayner said the pause was \u201ca matter for\u201d the United States and it had not changed Starmer\u2019s approach toward trying to find a suitable ceasefire […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":465093,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-465087","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n